


Love is Inevitable

by Royalwriter



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Barry "The Lover" Bluejeans is an emotional thot, F/M, M/M, Memories, Multi, Stolen Century
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-19
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2019-04-04 18:16:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14025894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Royalwriter/pseuds/Royalwriter
Summary: Over the century Barry falls a little bit in love with every member of the IPRE. The love wears different forms for all, some starting romantic and fading to friends as close as family. Others romantic through and through. Barry regrets none of them, and reflects on them all.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Alternatively titled, Barry kisses most of the IPRE. This is going to be in different segments, each chapter featuring insight into a different character.

Over a century love becomes complicated. You learn each person so innately that the thought of not loving them shrinks to impossibility. Love that seems incomprehensible to label as something as trivial as friends, lovers, even family. Flavors blending together into only inseparability.

Of course, a hundred years is also a long time to realize how attractive certain members of your crew are. And though Barry laughs about it now, he realizes that he did have romantic encounters with almost every member of the IPRE that grew to shape his love for them. No matter how different the form it takes today is.

* * *

 

Reflecting now Barry realizes, that technically, Taako came first in terms of people he slept with, but Barry isn’t sure that counts as the first experience with Taako's love. Especially given that at the time when Barry even hinted at another date, Taako laughed at him for fifteen minutes. Barry’d counted. His love didn’t start as something Barry could count on until more cycles in, but for laws of technicality, Taako came first.

Barry’d been young and naïve, during training before the IPRE was even finalized. They were all hopeful recruits then, no idea what was in store.

They were working on team building, though the idea of team-building with what the twins were then was laughable. Taako then was all jutting angles and sharp teeth, and really Barry should have known better. Except that, well the twins combined were the most beautiful people Barry had ever seen, and he was never one for self-control.

And they’d been assigned to a group with each other and two other people, who even then it was clear wouldn’t make it. So Taako and Barry had been practicing summoning circles, in close quarters, bickering over it.

“You need to close that last loop or whatever we summon will escape from it, and we’ll all fail this test,” Barry said and moved to do it himself before Taako cut in front of him.

Taako bent down and murmured a spell, finishing up the exercise of his own merit before standing too quickly for Barry to react. He’d looked Barry up and down and sighed to himself in a manner that left Barry both blushing, and a little bit offended.

“So since everything else here is a snoozefest you should come back to my dorm with me for mm, an hour or so tonight. I’ll leave you a key and everything,” and then Taako smirked, and Barry didn’t know what to do with any of that.

“I- Are you flirting me with me or-?” he’d stammered out the universe’s dumbest response,

“Oh, Hell yeah. If you’re interested of course but,” Taako looked him up and down once last time. “You are,” then he’d tossed Barry a room key and walked away, leaving Barry flabbergasted and stammering in his first interaction with his future brother in law.

 

It’d only gone downhill from there though. Because Barry’d taken him up on that offer and the next morning Taako torn him apart. Left him almost dreading the trip when the final crew was announced. He shook it off though, because even then Barry was nothing if not resilient.

After a couple of decades as the only consistent people though, even heartbreak fades to the back of memory. Not all at once, and their eventual love for each other developed in small pieces, moments that are hard to place.

But as they often do with Barry, one moment in particular sticks out clearly in his mind. He’d been wandering the Starblaster late at night, woken up by some nightmare or another. This had been back before he had anyone’s bed to crawl into, or even enough confidence to disturb anyone’s slumber for simply company. It had been almost ten cycles in, and his anxiety still beat him most nights.

He’d walked into the kitchen rubbing at his eyes to find Taako, alone for once. Taako was leaned over a pot slowly heating on the door. He startled and swore, dropping the spoon with a clatter.

“Fuck Barold. You doing a ghost of the night act or something? Just gonna lurk in every doorway of the ship scaring the shit of your innocent crewmates?” Taako said.

“Sorry Taako, didn’t mean to scare you, just haven’t been able to get to sleep,” he tried to laugh it off but the laugh catches in his throat. Taako considered him for a minute and then gestured to the chair.

“Better stay here so I can keep an eye on you. Make sure you don’t pull anything like that again,”

“Right, sounds good. I’ll be sure to behave,” Barry sunk into a chair and rested his head in his hands.

The room swam faintly around him as he sat. Exhaustion in those days lurked constantly, and if he’d been honest with himself he knew he hadn’t slept a full night in a while. Some immeasurable amount of time later he felt a blanket drape over his shoulders and a mug nudge at his hands.

“Figured you should get a taste of what you almost ruined Mr. Ghost,” he said, staring at him until Barry took a sip.

Hot chocolate. kind of hot chocolate that no one else could make and Taako and Lup always sequestered away for themselves. And Taako decided to share it with him. A smile curled at the edge of his lips.

“Thank you,” Barry called after Taako, who was already leaving the room.

Taako turned to roll his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. The blanket’s cashmere, so spill on it and I will break whatever weird fucking loop we’re in to end you in every possible, every timeline you can imagine,” and then he left the room.

Barry finished the mug and folded the blanket on the chair. He slept through the rest of that night better than he had in a long time.

He’d won some private battle that night. Gotten Taako to open up in some degree and so that is what, a century later, Barry counts as the first time he loved Taako. The first time Taako’s thread become irrevocably wound with the rest of his family’s.


	2. Magnus

Magnus came to Barry first. He came once it sank in that their world wasn’t coming back. That all they had for the foreseeable future was each other and this infinite ship and the infinite blackness. Paper thin worlds that would crumble once they left, that nothing tangible could be taken, well Magnus needed some support. He’d posted an open offer for cuddles on his door since the first day but Barry never had the courage to take him up on it. Not until a heavy fist knocked on his door anyways.

When he pulled open the door to his room Magnus stood there shirtless and in ridiculous dog boxers. Somehow, he didn’t seem sheepish, even going door to door begging in the night. Magnus had a confidence in his own ability to be wanted that Barry envied.

“Hey Magnus, what’s going on?” Barry asked, gesturing for Magnus to come in.

“Hey Barry. Would you by any chance be up for cuddling? No one’s taken me up on the sign and I’m gonna be honest here, you’re the least likely to kick me out for asking. I haven’t like held anyone since we left our planet. And I’m not going to lie, I kick ass at holding people,” he’d said.

Barry couldn’t turn down an offer like that, so of course he smiled back at Magnus.

“Yeah, of course you can. Here it’s kind of a mess right now but-“ and he stepped into the room, Magnus followed and closed the door behind him.

Barry moved to his bed and started to frantically move some notebooks and writing utensils off of it. There wasn’t really anywhere to lay until he did. Magnus moved to help him, adding things to the heap he created.   


“Where have you even been sleeping bud? Because it doesn’t look there’s space for you in there,” he commented, clearing off the last of the rubble.

Sheepishly Barry rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding eye contact. “I- uh, well I haven’t been sleeping all that much to be honest. Not in like a concerning way just in the sleep hasn’t been much of an option or priority as of late. So, I just haven’t sleep,”

“Good thing your old pal Magnus is here to help you sleep tonight then huh?” Magnus smiled.

“Yeah, good thing,”

“Alright, now do you have a preference for which side of the bed, or any position or are we just going all in right away?”

“I honestly have no idea, I’ll defer to your judgement on this one Magnus,” Barry said, pulling back the blankets.

“Sick okay. One sec,” Magnus gently moved Barry to the side and started to rearrange the blankets and pillows. He piled most of them to one side before climbing in himself, shaping his body so there was a perfect nook for Barry.

“Okay, come here,” Magnus offered, patting the bed next to him.

Barry followed orders with only a faint bit of hesitance. Magnus held his arms open wide for him though, and so Barry caved, curling himself into the bed against Magnus’ chest. He curled up so that he faced Magnus, their heads nearly touching. Magnus wrapped one heavy arm around Barry, pulling him close. Barry couldn’t deny that it was nice.

Magnus smelled faintly of body wash that Barry would have hated on any guy back on their planet. On Magnus though, the effort is too genuine to hate. Too much liking the smell and not enough trying to impress people based on arbitrary standards. Laying on his bare chest didn't turn out as awkward as Barry had feared. In fact, the warmth and level of his muscles add to the comfort.And then there’s Magnus’ heartbeat, strong and steady in his ears and the weight on his arm. It was all very comforting, and it struck him in that moment just how badly he’d needed affection too. 

He wrapped his arm around Magnus’ waist and gripped him tightly just once, before relaxing into a more at ease position.

“Comfy?” Magnus murmured.

“Yes. Thank you. I needed this,” Barry replied, his body already dragging him towards sleep.

“No problem, seriously, any time,” Magnus said, and that promise carried Barry into the easiest sleep he’d had since they boarded the ship.

Barry woke in the morning to sun streaming in through the window, not startled out of nightmares. Bleary with sleep he glanced over to Magnus. Magnus snored softly, still oblivious to Barry's waking. Once he processed that Magnus was still asleep next to him, it was easy to curl back against his body and catch a few more minutes of sleep. 

After that they’d made a habit of it, though they switched up whose room they spent the night in. It didn’t happen every night of course, Barry still researched far later than he should sometimes, and even Magnus needed personal space, but slowly but surely they ended up speeding more together.

It seeped out from just sleeping in the same bed into other elements of their life.

Barry found himself training more than he ever really had, if only for the way Magnus laughed and helped him up when he overpowered him while sparring. Magnus followed him around more in return too. He’d watch Barry write theories on the board and throw paper at him when he got bored.

* * *

It caught Barry by surprise, though it shouldn’t have. One day they were sitting down in Barry’s room and discussing how feasible a planet was where everything was made of hard candy.

“I’m just saying that technically based on all we’ve seen it’s fully possible. The question would be whether or not it’s sentient or developed and in what a society could be formed. Would it be the kind of world where it’s ethical for us to eat all of the candy we encounter? There’s infinite-” then Barry paused because Magnus was looking at him with an expression he hadn’t seen before.

“What? Did I say something completely out of line or have I been transmuted into a toad? Why are you looking at me like that?” Barry poked at Magnus, certain it was something mundane.

Magnus laughed at him.

And then Magnus stopped, and looked him over with a care Barry hadn’t seen before. Goosebumps rose on his skin and Magnus closed the distance between them, his breath ghosting over Barry’s face.

“Hey, Barry?” he asked, still holding back, the most Barry had ever seen Magnus restrain himself.

“Yeah?” Barry replied, voice catching in his throat.

“Can I kiss you?”

For an answer Barry leaned in that last centimeter and pressed his lips to Magnus’. Magnus kissed like he did most everything else. With no hesitation and every ounce of his being. He lifted his hand to Barry’s head, tangling his fingers in his hair as he kissed him. His stubble scraped gently against Barry’s own, and he still tasted like toothpaste from the morning.

Barry matched his enthusiasm kiss for kiss. He moved himself so he sat half-straddling Magnus, his hands reaching as far around Magnus’ body as he could. He couldn’t quite reach all the way around him, but he gave it his best shot. Judging by the fact that Magnus kept kissing and holding him, Barry didn’t think he minded.

Eventually the both of them had to pull apart from sheer breathlessness. Barry laughed, marveling at how Magnus smiled at him.

He seemed to glow with sheer puppy-dog enthusiasm. Magnus marveled at Barry just as much as Barry marveled at him. It was humbling really. He looked at him like Barry held all the answers to life and universe in the palm of his hand. Barry realized that Magnus loved in a similar way to him. Unapologetically, with most of himself.

“So, what are the odds of making that as regular as our cuddling?” Magnus asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Barry laughed again, “Pretty damn good,”

And so, from then on, they had. Magnus and Barry would come to each other for cuddling, kissing, and much more for next couple of cycles. They never dated, not officially. And when Barry fell in love with Lup Magnus was the first to encourage him to make a move.

Barry knows now that he wouldn’t have survived those cycles on the Starblaster without Magnus’ undying support. For years they both provided the other the love they needed to keep going. And now the love has changed. The standards have changed, but the core of it remains the same.

Barry’s never been more grateful for Magnus having the courage to knock on his door that lonely night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so weak for Magnus/Barry. My two loving boys...


End file.
